Transillumination of iris muscles to infer stroma deformation
Inventors
Weisberg, Seth • Brown, Joseph • Bowden, Jared • Zakariaie, David • Sommerlot, Andrew R. • Grier, Kyle
Assignees
Publication Number
US-12265935-B2
Publication Date
2025-04-01
Expiration Date
2040-12-18
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Abstract
A method of discovering relationships between iris physiology and cognitive states and/or emotional states of a subject includes providing a computing device and a video camera to record a close-up view of the subject's eye. A first light is held to the lower eyelid skin and a second light a distance away illuminating the stroma of the eye. The first and second light are electronically synced together and configured to flash alternatively. The user engages in a plurality of tasks while recording ocular information which is processed to identify correlations between the responses in the iris musculature and the distortions in the stroma through the use optimized algorithms. One can then identifying at least one predictive distortion is identified in the stroma capturable solely with a visible-spectrum camera correlating to a predicted responses in the iris musculature.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a method for discovering relationships between iris physiology and the cognitive and emotional states of a subject by using transillumination techniques. It employs two lighting components: one light is placed against the lower eyelid skin to allow light to shine out from within the eye, rendering the iris musculature visible, while a second light, not in contact with the subject and situated a distance away, illuminates the stroma of the eye. Both lights are electronically synced to flash alternately, enabling synchronized video capture of both iris muscle movements beneath the stroma and surface-level stroma deformations.
A computing device and a video camera configured to record a close-up view of the subject's eye are used to gather ocular information as the user engages in a series of cognitively or emotionally evocative tasks. Using optimized algorithms, the system processes the recorded video to identify correlations between the subsurface iris muscle responses and the visual distortions observed in the stroma. The technique enables the identification of predictive surface-level deformations in the stroma—observable with a visible-spectrum camera—that correlate to specific states and movements of the underlying iris musculature.
The problem addressed by the invention is that direct, non-invasive observation of iris muscle physiology and its connection to brain activity is obscured by the stroma, limiting the ability to reliably infer cognitive or emotional states from eye recordings. Existing ocular systems do not provide a contact-free, surface-level mapping of iris muscle activity onto visible stroma deformations that can be captured with standard video equipment. The presented innovation satisfies the need for improved ocular systems by enabling surface-to-subsurface inference of brain-related ocular activity using transillumination.
Claims Coverage
There is one independent claim defining the main inventive features of the invention.
Synchronized transillumination and surface illumination for mapping iris muscle physiology to stroma deformation
The method utilizes a computing device, a near-infrared sensitive video camera, a first light held against the lower eyelid to shine light from within the eye, and a second light, positioned at a distance, to illuminate the stroma of the cornea. The first and second lights are electronically synchronized to flash alternately. The technique involves recording ocular information—specifically both the iris musculature responses and the corresponding stroma deformations—while the subject performs a series of cognitively or emotionally evocative tasks. Algorithmic processing is applied to these synchronized recordings to identify correlations between iris muscle activity and stroma distortions. The system further identifies at least one predictive distortion in the stroma that can be captured using only a visible-spectrum camera (and without the first light applied to the lower eyelid), which correlates with predicted responses in the iris musculature relevant to the subject's cognitive or emotional state.
The claims broadly cover a system and method for correlating iris muscle activity and stroma deformation by means of synchronized transillumination and surface illumination, algorithmic analysis of recorded video data, and identification of predictive stroma deformations observable via visible-spectrum cameras.
Stated Advantages
Provides a contact-free technique for mapping and inferring complex patterns of iris muscle physiology from surface-level video recordings.
Enables reliable, non-invasive quantification of cognitive and emotional states through ocular metrics accessible with standard visible-spectrum video equipment.
Allows the creation of datasets that map brain activity and surface stroma movements directly to subsurface iris activity in a measurable and reliable way.
Documented Applications
Deception detection using ocular information to assess truthfulness or deceptiveness during questioning or statements.
Assessing operational risk by determining fitness for duty, including detection of fatigue, impairment, intoxication, or excessive anxiety.
Optimizing and quantifying learning processes by linking ocular metrics to cognitive load, memory formation, and adaptive training systems.
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